Useful quantum computers are closer to becoming a reality as some of the world's biggest corporations try to bring the technology from the lab into the practical world. A quantum computer utilizes subatomic particles called qubits to speed up the solving of complex computations. Near-term expectations for quantum computers range from solving optimization problems to quantum-encrypted communications, and more. With the help of CB Insights' investment, acquisition, and partnership data, we identified 18 corporate groups involved in the development of commercialized quantum computing hardware and software. They are a diverse group of players, ranging from tech industry behemoths to defense contractors to national telecommunications companies.

Artificial Intelligence has come a long way from science fiction to providing innovative, and life-changing solutions in the real world. AI is a form of intelligence exhibited by machines, where machine learning methods teach machines how to perform tasks that humans either can't do or at which machines are more efficient and productive. AI never stands still and it has become a subject of ethical debates, including how to exploit AI but not harm the humanity but also how to treat an artificial intellect in terms of rights and freedoms? Machines we see today are already capable of performing full-time both industrial and non-industrial jobs, they can speak, learn, and even have sexual relationships with humans. These factors lead to questions of whether the time has come to institutionalize robots and give them rights and freedoms, because at the moment, the creation of conscious entity is not prevented by laws or physics.

Working with the Atlanta fire department, a team at the Georgia Institute of Technology has built an algorithm that predicts the risk of fire for the city's commercial property. Called Firebird, it uses crime statistics, fire permits and nearby liquor licences to flag high-risk buildings. A similar approach has also been used in New York. The number of pages in a closed book that can be read by a new computer imaging technique. Made by a team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the system uses terahertz radiation to penetrate several layers of paper and detect what's printed on them All robots need a mother ship.

"Inbenta was founded in 2005 with a vision of leveraging artificial intelligence in an entirely new manner to transform how companies and customers interact," said Jordi Torras, founder and CEO, Inbenta. "That vision has been realized, and now Inbenta is in a period of dramatic and profitable growth including global expansion into 23 countries and support for over 20 languages. This Series B financing will help bring our technology to a much larger group of demanding customers who need enterprise-grade solutions, and to further drive the innovation that underpins our technology." The funding will be used to expand sales and marketing, and to further drive product development for Inbenta's industry-leading natural language processing (NLP) technology that powers search, chatbots, and self-service solutions for customer support and e-commerce. Inbenta's products are now used by over 200 customers around the world, including Ticketmaster, B&H, CA Technologies and 8x8 to enhance customer engagement, increase retention, and drive sales.

The Amazon Echo and Dot, which became available in white in addition to the original black in September of 2016. SAN FRANCISCO -- Kitchen counters of the world rejoice! The Amazon Echo now comes in white. The new version comes as Amazon announced it will now be making its voice-controlled speaker and digital assistant available in the United Kingdom and Germany for the first time. The hockey puck-sized Echo Dot also now comes in both black and white.

Amazon is launching a cheaper version of its smaller-sized home assistant, the Echo Dot, that it claims will be better at recognizing your voice from afar. The device is up for preorder starting Wednesday and will be shipping next month. The new Echo Dot, which will be priced at 49.99 compared to its original price of 89.99, includes a more powerful speech processor and will be available in black and white color options. Amazon is also allowing anyone to purchase the Echo Dot, whereas it was originally only available for those with a Prime account and an Amazon device that supports its Alexa assistant. The Echo Dot, unlike its larger sibling, isn't meant to function as a primary home entertainment speaker.

When we're born, do some words come factory-installed? A new study, published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, finds that many human languages use similar words to describe the same concepts. These commonalities, which exist between languages that are apparently unrelated and separated by thousands of miles, may challenge existing theories about linguistic evolution. "These sound symbolic patterns show up again and again across the world, independent of the geographical dispersal of humans and independent of language lineage," Morten Christiansen, co-author and director of Cornell's Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, said in a statement. "There does seem to be something about the human condition that leads to these patterns. We don't know what it is, but we know it's there."

Consider your repetitive daily tasks. Do you, or your employees, follow a process to perform these? If so, then this job, or at least the repetitive part of it, will almost definitely be replaced by a robotic usurper. No industry will be unchanged from the "robot revolution". Disruption is already occurring in many of the commoditised functions of accounting and legal advice, for example.

Artificial intelligence "will soon destroy millions of human jobs," warned Gerd Leonhard of The Futures Agency, a speaker at Tata Communications' CEO Summit 2016 earlier this month. "In five years most companies will have armies of very cheap, very powerful machines, connected to a smart cloud, and they will be able to accomplish so many routine processes," the Zurich-based futurist said. "Some 25 years from now machines, through cognitive computing and using vast amounts of data from humans, will do all of that kind of work." A select cluster of 60 business leaders attended the two-day conference at Coworth Park in Ascot, which both educated and provoked. It addressed concerns but also flagged up potential opportunities.

Ford Motor Co. F -1.53 % made its latest plea for investors to view the auto maker more like a Silicon Valley company, promising lofty returns on future ventures while warning near-term profit will be pinched by deep investment. The Dearborn, Mich., auto maker told investors on Wednesday that its new business services unit eventually will deliver 20% margins, two-and-a-half-times its core auto-making operation. It updated its plans for venturing into robo-taxis, electric car and other transportation services like bike sharing and shuttle vans. Ford's share price has declined while Chief Executive Mark Fields has been at the helm, despite delivering record operating profit. The focus under Mr. Fields--who took over in 2014 after Alan Mulally spent nearly a decade on initiatives that had Ford getting back to basics--has been on winning a technology race with rivals including General Motors Co. GM -0.71 % and Toyota Motor Corp. TM -1.04 % The new strategy will be costly and risky.